CAREER: Phylogeny of the Siphonaptera of the World

白蚤是一个相对较小的全变态昆虫目，约有2380种，与鸟类和哺乳动物宿主有关。蚤科之间的系统发育关系几乎是未知的，并且仍然令人困惑。这项建议的研究部分的目的是在科和属层面上确定管水蚤属的系统发育关系。这将通过汇编大量蚤类和相关类群的形态和DNA序列数据，然后对这些数据进行严格的系统发育分析来实现。一旦建立了系统发育图，将对当前的蚤类分类进行评估，并将调查蚤类进化过程中哺乳动物-鸟类宿主的变化模式。这项建议的教育部分的目的是为广泛的本科生提供基本的系统学教育，并为那些对系统学和进化生物学最感兴趣的人提供重要的研究经验。学生将有机会进行实地考察、基于采集的研究(例如，记录跳蚤的形态)、基于实验室的研究(例如，DNA测序)和基于计算的研究(例如，系统发育分析)。重点将放在培养本科生的研究和分析技能上，这是在进化生物学领域取得成功所必需的。教育经历在犹他州系统学研讨会上达到顶峰，在研讨会上，学生们展示他们的研究，并有机会与其他机构的同行互动，最后学生们准备出版手稿。该项目将提供有关蚤类系统发育的迫切需要的信息，促进学生在系统学方面的培训，并有助于激发人们对蚤类系统学的兴趣，这是一个非常需要年轻专家的领域。

9983195Whiting Fleas comprise a relatively small holometabolous insect order (Siphonaptera) of about 2380 species which are associated with bird and mammal hosts. The phylogenetic relationships among flea families are virtually unknown and have remained perplexing. The purpose of the research component of this proposal is to determine phylogenetic relationships of Siphonaptera at the familial and generic levels. This will be accomplished by compiling morphological and DNA sequence data for a large representation of fleas and related taxa, then subjecting these data to rigorous phylogenetic analysis. Once the phylogeny is in place, the current classification of fleas will be evaluated and the pattern of mammal-bird host shifts during flea evolution will be investigated. The purpose of the education component of this proposal is to provide a basic systematics education to a wide range of undergraduate students, and to furnish significant research experiences to those most interested in systematics and evolutionary biology. Students will be given opportunities for field work, collection-based research (e.g., documenting flea morphology), lab-based research (e.g., DNA sequencing), and computation based-research (e.g., phylogenetic analysis). The focus will be on developing research and analytical skills in undergraduate students, which are necessary for successful careers in evolutionary biology. The education experience culminates in a Utah State Systematics symposium where the students present their research and have the opportunity to interact with peers from other institutions and concludes with students preparing a manuscript for publication. This project will provide much needed information on flea phylogeny, facilitate the training of students in systematics, and help spawn interest in flea systematics, an field sorely in need of young specialists.